Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to speak specifically to my amendments Nos. 3, 4 and 7 but I am also supporting the amendments of colleagues. The bottom line is that rents are too high and tenants simply cannot absorb any level of rent increase at this stage. We know, for example, that because new rental properties are not subject to the rent pressure zone caps, they are coming in at excessively high levels in some parts of Dublin, at over €2,000 per month for a standard two-bed unit, including in my constituency. Even where property is captured by the rent pressure zone rules, because it is virtually impossible to police the cap between tenants, that is, when one tenant moves out and another moves in, there is a widespread practice of landlords charging more than a cap, irrespective of whether it is inflation, 4% or 2% in that period. Of course, as the Minister of State knows, many parts of the State and approximately one third of tenants are not covered by rent pressure zones. Many of those counties, particularly more rural or western counties, are experiencing exceptionally high levels of rent as a result of some of the displacement of urban renters due to working from home arrangements and Covid-19 job losses.

Given where rents are, the idea that any level of rent increase is acceptable is sheer madness. The idea that the rent pressure zones would even work at 2% flies in the face of all of the evidence we have since the rent pressure zones and the caps were originally introduced in 2017. On that basis, the only thing to do here is to stop rent increases for an emergency period only. I do not believe we can ban rent increases indefinitely; there are medium to long-term negatives from doing so but in the short term, they need to stop.

One of the very retrograde elements of this Bill is the reintroduction of what we call the accumulating rent increase for a landlord who may not have increased the rent in previous years. That was a feature of the original rent pressure zone legislation introduced by the then Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney. It was not really a feature in 2017, 2018 or 2019 but when Covid hit, many landlords chose, rightly, not to increase rents in 2020 because of the financial difficulties of their tenants. However, their tenants where then hit with 8% rent increases in 2021 and it became quite a big matter of debate here. The Minister removed that provision in the last Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill but it is now being introduced. What that means is that tenants, on foot of the passage of this Bill if it is not amended, could face rent increases of more than 2%, or inflation, whichever is the lower, if their landlord did not increase their rent last year or the year before. In fact, they could face rent increases of as high as 5%, 6% or 7%, depending on when the last rent review was set. We absolutely need a ban on rent increases and we absolutely need to remove the accumulating rent increase.

I am sure the Minister of State will make some reference to the Constitution and in that context, I fully endorse Deputy Nash's comments. We have had circumstances previously where rents could not be increased for a period of time. We might have constitutional difficulties if such a ban was open-ended or indefinite, although some legal scholars have a different opinion on that, but Deputy Nash is absolutely right that Deputy Alan Kelly, when Minister, introduced a two-year ban on rent increases.

I have other difficulties with that legislation, which I blame on the former Deputy and Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, rather than Deputy Kelly, because the former fought tooth and nail against any relief for renters, as is often the Fine Gael way. Anybody that stands up in this Chamber and argues that it would be unconstitutional to have a very temporary ban on rent increases, at a time when rents are higher than they were at the height of the Celtic tiger era, is misleading the House.

I challenge him to publish any legal advice the Government has on the matter. If he did so, I would be willing to reconsider but I believe that it is a canard used to hide inaction. This entire group of amendments is eminently sensible. If the Government was serious about protecting renters, it would accept them.

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